Atoll Research Bulletin, no. 589 : Phoenix Island

Abstract:

This special edition of ARB, on the Phoenix Islands, summarizes the early science that set in motion a landmark initiative that has today become the Phoenix Islands Protected Area, the world’s largest World Heritage Site and second largest marine protected area. The Phoenix Islands are an archipelago of remote coral islands and atolls in the very center of the Central Pacific, one of the three island groups of the Republic of Kiribati. As such they represent one third of Kiribati’s land and sea area, though their isolation and the small size of the islands have meant they have never been permanently settled, setting the stage for what they have become today, one of the few archipelagos on the planet with low levels of local human threats.